Bulk LPG - Cheapest suppliers / supply route?

Woggle

PS - I've read on this group that LPG is usually 1/3 more expensive than mains gas.

The cap on mains gas I think is 7.37p per kWh (with a standing charge of 27.22p per day).

If I'm being charged 50p per litre (and if 1 litre of LPG contains around 7kWh of energy) then presumably it works out at 7.14p per kWh. 

Obviously I've not included the standing charge (which cancelled out with the hire cost of the tank) - but does that not make LPG cheaper? 

Have I missed something obvious?

jamesg123

Woggle said:

PS - I've read on this group that LPG is usually 1/3 more expensive than mains gas.

The cap on mains gas I think is 7.37p per kWh (with a standing charge of 27.22p per day).

If I'm being charged 50p per litre (and if 1 litre of LPG contains around 7kWh of energy) then presumably it works out at 7.14p per kWh. 

Obviously I've not included the standing charge (which cancelled out with the hire cost of the tank) - but does that not make LPG cheaper? 

Have I missed something obvious?

Numbers look good to me 👍 

collectors

Woggle said:

Hi there,

We are about to move into a property in a few weeks which is on LPG (tank). The tank is 70% full and we are being advised from the agents that the arrangements are with Calor. There agents have advised there is £500 debit on the account which will be transferred to us. It's not an actual debit but rather the previous tenants were paying by direct debit (on a pay as you use basis).

Does this sound right to people? I've had conflicting advice - the agents are telling me I need to get the account transferred into our names, other people just saying to leave it until the tank is lower as we have no contract with Calor (but I can't believe this is the case!). 

Presumably our options are either:

1). To transfer the account to us (and check with Calor what the price is for usage) but sign no contract and re-evaluate when the tank is lower;
2). To enter a contract with Calor (depending on the price)
3). To explore prices with other LPG suppliers and arrange a transfer away from Calor.

Does that sound right - and any thoughts on what we should do?

I dont think calor would be able to charge you as your not in contract with them. See if the last people living there has some sort or receipt to say whats going on & also find out the price per lire back when it was las filled. Then approach calor & say i am not in contract with you, but might be willing to purchase the gas in the tank at the old price & maybe take a new contract out with you. If not, ask them to come around & empty it & go else ware. It could be a saving of around £180:00.

Sorting_Hat

Dont forget the mains gas price cap has nothing to do with lpg.

You will have to pay to rent and use the tank as its not yours or the landlords.  The LPG firm can lock it off so it cant be used if the rental is not paid. The tank can be removed as well.

If you choose another firm the new firm will purchase the tank from the existing one and then you pay rent to the new firm.

The lpg firm if they have not been paid for the gas (so their gas in their tank at this point)  could either offer you the gas at an out of contract price, or a more attractive price based on a new contract.

Woggle

Sorting_Hat said:

Dont forget the mains gas price cap has nothing to do with lpg.

You will have to pay to rent and use the tank as its not yours or the landlords.  The LPG firm can lock it off so it cant be used if the rental is not paid. The tank can be removed as well.

If you choose another firm the new firm will purchase the tank from the existing one and then you pay rent to the new firm.

The lpg firm if they have not been paid for the gas (so their gas in their tank at this point)  could either offer you the gas at an out of contract price, or a more attractive price based on a new contract.

Many thanks for all the comments - very much appreciated and I still feel like I'm on a very quick learning curve.

The one thing I don't quite understand is whether I need to do anything with what is in the tank currently. Obviously I need to ensure I'm paying a rental for the tank but I'm getting a mixture of views from providers and the estate agents over what I need to do next.

- Estate agent is telling me that I need to take on the £500 debit with Calor (current provider) - it's not an actual debit with Calor but accounts for what is left in the tank.

- Other providers are telling me to do nothing and wait until the tank is near to needing to be refilled (then find a best price at that stage) i.e. around 30%.

The previous people (tenants) had a pay-as-you-use arrangement with Calor. 

Can anyone help? I don't want to be chased by Calor for not paying them - and I imagine the previous tenants will have cancelled their direct debit with Calor.

philtrick123

Did the previous tenant pay for LPG left in the tank when they took on the property? Ask for evidence?
Ask for evidence of the outstanding bill with Calor. The Bill is in their name so Calor will not chase you. The previous tenant could ask Calor to come back and pick up the lpg from the tank- there would probably be a charge for doing so. I'm not sure if Calor tankers can pump both ways???
You could pay the old tenant for the LPG left.

In my mind the old tenant is asking you to pay for something they bought which is immovable. Could be a large set of fitted waredrobes. What's the landlords view on all of this? Is there nothing in the tenancy agreement?

Sorting_Hat

If  LPG was being  supplied on an out of contract price it would be very very steep.  By default you are their customer as you are using the infrastructure.

One thing to watch for is "acceptance of service is deemed to be a verbal contract".  You will have to pay for the gas you are using (if it has not been paid for and is still the lpg firms) I would suggest it would be better on your terms rather than the "out of contract" ones.

Woggle

Thanks for all your help. In case people are interested, the below is a summary of what I've been offered (in case it helps others):

- Calor: 54p per litre. 2 year variable contract. £66pa tank rental.

- Avanti: 50p per litre. 2 year fixed contract (didn't get tank ownership price) -  sourced via LPG Solutions. Best of the lot but I've not heard great things about their supply recently.

- Flogas: 50p per litre: 1 year fixed and then variable. £60pa tank rental. Sourced via LPG save. I have enquired about cost of a 2 year contract but no response.

I have also got a quote from Callow Gas (as they supply our area) but quite a bit more expensive (plus variable - they add on 20% against what they purchase LPG at the time).

I've still got quite a lot left in the tank so going to hold off entering into a contract although I expect prices are only going in one direction!!

Sorting_Hat

Did you get a resolution on who owns the gas your using?  Is the lpg firm going to go after the prev tenant?  The LL?

Make sure any figures are for the whole package.

Some firms quote a price but don't mention that's just the gas price and additional operating costs are on top.

Woggle

Sorting_Hat said:

Did you get a resolution on who owns the gas your using?  Is the lpg firm going to go after the prev tenant?  The LL?

Make sure any figures are for the whole package.

Some firms quote a price but don't mention that's just the gas price and additional operating costs are on top.

Thanks - we did, yes. I don't quite understand why (although I'm not complaining!) but we just need to pay the rental for the tank. What is in the tank is ours and we don't need to pay anyone for it. We only need to enter a contract when we need to fill up the tank - and then will setup a payment arrangement at that stage. 

I'm slightly worried something will come out once we've moved in, but for now it seems I've got a free 70% tank worth of LPG!